


Pixie Dust Presents

by heartsdesire456



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician)
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Relationship, Bartenders, Consent Issues, Drag Queens, Emotional Abuse, F/M, Gen, M/M, Physical Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-12
Updated: 2013-02-12
Packaged: 2017-11-29 00:32:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/680637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Tommy gets a new night job bartending at Pixie Dust Presents, a booming drag club, he expected the pay might help him and his girlfriend out. What he didn't expect, however, was to meet three amazing new friends. In spite of the constant exhaustion of working a nine-to-five job as well as a night job until all hours of the morning, working at Pixie Dust Presents and having so many new friends makes everything in Tommy's life better. Except for one. When Tommy's girlfriend Erin begins to go from 'demanding' to 'abusive', Tommy really starts to understand how much his friends really care about him. </p><p>(Originally written for TJRBB 2012 on livejournal)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pixie Dust Presents

**Author's Note:**

> The violence warning is for physical abuse. It isn't really GRAPHIC, but it is described. There IS hinted sexual abuse, but I feel it is too minor to warrant a rape/non-con warning. Proceed with caution.
> 
> Original A/N: "This fic didn't go as I planned for it to go. It was hard to write when I was trying to make it a slash fic (well, FOCUSED on slash fic) and the idea was geared more towards friendship. I hope having a more friendship pairing than anything else doesn't detract from your enjoyment of it! ENJOY!"

“Two apple martinis, three bud lights, and a double whiskey!” Tommy looked up and smiled when the waiter plopped the tray down on the counter in front of Tommy.

“Let me finish this cosmo and I’ll get that for you,” he said, pouring up the drink before turning to set it down in front of the guy next to the waiter. “Here you go,” he said, taking the money the guy held out.

“So, when do you get off work, cutie?” the guy asked and Tommy smirked at him.

“Late, sorry,” he said, winking at the guy, who smiled back and laid a tip on the counter, winking back at Tommy, who was already grabbing the things he would need for the drinks the waiter asked him for. 

The waiter whistled at the back of the guy who walked away. “Damn, new boy, you’ve learned fast!” he said, smiling at him. “I’m Brad,” he said and Tommy grinned, shaking his hand as he put the martinis on the tray.

“Tommy,” he replied. “And hey, I know how you get tips,” he said, only to be interrupted as a girl slid up to the bar. He smiled at her. “Just a second, beautiful, I’m nearly done here,” he said and the girl giggled, turning to her friend as Tommy walked to the wall behind the bar to grab the whiskey.

Brad smirked. “Playing for both teams tonight, huh?” he asked and Tommy laughed, shaking his head.

“Well, I’ll flirt with anybody for better tips,” he said, ducking down to grab the beers. “But I only play for one team,” he said, placing them on the tray.

Brad laughed in surprise. “That wasn’t an answer,” he accused, taking the tray to slip off into the crowd, leaving Tommy to go back to his work.

After the rush between performers, thing settled down, most people watching the show instead of waiting at the bar for drinks. Brad slid back to the bar and put down his tray, slipping around behind the bar to put some money in the register. “So,” he started, looking over at Tommy. “You never did say, you flirt with both teams but which do you play with?” he asked and Tommy grinned.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Don’t bother,” one of Tommy’s fellow bartenders interrupted, coming back to use the till himself. “TommyJoe here is _straight_ ,” he said, making a face.

Brad shot Tommy a look then sighed. “Damn, why are all the hot boys straight?” he asked and Tommy laughed in surprise.

“I usually hear women saying the exact opposite,” he pointed out and Adam made a face.

“Cause straight girls like gay boys and gay boys like straight boys. It’s tragic,” he said and Brad nodded.

“Not always, but a lot of the time? I like guys who end up straight.” He nodded at Adam. “Adam generally doesn’t have that problem. He _is_ basically a straight boy who likes guys,” he accused and Adam rolled his eyes. “Well you are! You like sports and cars and you _fight_ people-“

“Only my brother and he doesn’t count as a ‘person’,” he argued, rolling his eyes. “I’m sorry I’m a _man_ , not a boy,” he said, leaning against the register. “Seriously though, as broken as my gaydar is,” he said, looking at Tommy. “I would’ve definitely thought gay.”

Brad shrugged. “I could see bisexual, his pants are terrible so he had to have some straight in him, but fully straight? No straight guy should be that pretty,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Tommy. “Although, I used to be pretty like that,” he said, sighing dramatically as he looked up, forehead scrunching as he tried to see straight up. “My hair, it’s running away far too early,” he said dramatically.

Tommy smirked. “Hey, you are really pretty though, at least you’ve got your face still,” he said and Adam grumbled.

“Fucking pretty boys. I hate you all-“

“Then why did you date me for two years if you hate pretty boys, huh?” Brad asked, and Adam snorted.

“Well I’m not dating gross boys, am I?” he asked and Tommy glanced between them.

“You two are together?” he asked and they both made dramatic ‘ew’ faces.

“GOD no!” Brad said and Adam shook his head emphatically. “I mean, love you to death, honey, and I really was very much in love with you back then, but Adam, I couldn’t sleep with you now if my life depended on it,” he said and Adam nodded.

“God no!” He shuddered. “No, we dated when we were younger. We were together a long time, but I’m pretty sure it was best friends mistaken for first love,” he said and Brad nodded.

“Seriously, Adam’s too much of a _boy_ ,” he said and Tommy snickered.

“Ah, and you managed to stay friends after dating and breaking up?” he asked and Adam smiled and shrugged.

“I stay friends with most everybody I date. None of them were love like Brad was, but despite his claims of me being a ‘boy’, I’m a sweet guy, people have trouble hating me and I date the kind of guys who can be mature enough to stay friends-“

Brad snorted. “I can’t find a decent man to save my life,” he said, sighing dramatically. “This ass and face attract the wrong kind of men, Tommy.” He glanced down at Tommy’s ass and hummed. “Well, you sure don’t have to worry about that problem,” he said and Tommy made an offended sound.

Adam grinned. “Aww, I think it’s cute how flat your ass is, ignore him,” he said, patting his shoulder. “My boyfriend’s ass is _flat_. It’s like back to thighs or something,” he said and Brad rolled his eyes.

“His boyfriend is boring. He’s cute but he is a _librarian_ ,” he hissed and Adam shrugged.

“He’s smart and funny and I like him a lot!” he countered, then smirked. “Besides, you’re just bummed my brother is straight-“

Tommy gasped. “Dude, you like his _brother_?!”

“I DON’T!” Brad argued, glaring at Adam. “We’re friends, he’s straight, his girlfriend is gorgeous, and he’s more of a boy than you!”

Tommy just laughed as they started bickering. He looked up and glanced around to be sure nobody was coming to the bar. “Dude, this one isn’t that impressive, I’m surprised nobody’s come to the bar,” he said interrupting Adam and Brad’s arguments.

Brad scoffed. “And that’s proof you’re new,” he said, petting his head patronizingly. “Lucy goes on before Raja,” he said and Adam grinned.

“Raja is one of my oldest and dearest friends and I swear to God, if it wasn’t for that, I’d want her so bad,” he said emphatically.

Tommy grinned. “I love the sexy queens. They’re always so fun to watch. I was friends with this guy named Lance that, in spite of being straight, did a show out in Vegas for a few years. I’d go see him sometimes and he’d always make me wear full drag makeup, not just my normal stuff, though I drew the line at the clothes.” He snickered. “Sadly, when he and his wife had a kid he decided it was time to hang up the hooker heels, you know?” 

Adam eyed him. “You’d be a pretty queen. You just have too many masculine body language traits to break that easily.”

Brad snickered. “You should see Adam in drag-“

“Ew, no he shouldn’t,” he said, giving Tommy a look. “I am the ugliest drag queen EVER!”

Tommy snickered. “You look like Elvis, so yeah, I’d imagine so,” he said, then turned to Brad. “You’d be pretty,” he said and Brad scoffed.

“Bitch please, I’d be _gorgeous_! I just like my beard too much,” he said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

Tommy laughed. “I don’t grow a beard, sadly. I grow fuzz. After about a week, I get actual stubble. And nobody can be that lazy for that lo-“ He was interrupted a the music changed and Brad elbowed him.

“And here she comes,” he said. Tommy turned to look out over the floor towards the stage, raising an eyebrow as the queen that came out stopped and shrugged off her glittery robe to reveal her outfit. 

Tommy whistled as he looked at the slender, delicate arms, the downplayed ‘cleavage’, the skinny waist made even skinnier by a black and white corset, the ass enhanced by ruffled panties, and the long, _long_ legs clad in fishnet stockings held up by garters. “Damn, I’ve yet to see a queen look like a damn amazon supermodel,” he said and Adam nodded.

“I’m usually the tallest in a room but when he’s over?” He shook his head. “I’m no contest. In flats, bitch is about four inches taller than me.”

Tommy huffed, pouting as he looked up at Adam. “Fucking tall men,” he grumbled, then tilted his head. “Although, I’d be totally level with her not-boobs, so that’s pretty awesome,” he said and Brad laughed, shaking his head.

“I totally like you already,” he said, slapping his ass as he headed back out with his tray to go check on some tables.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy was closing out the register when Adam tapped him. “Hey, I’m heading out to meet James, can you take a sex on the beach back to the dressing room for Raja? I always take one at the end of the night but I promised I’d pick him up.”

Tommy nodded. “Sure, who’s James?” he asked and Adam smiled.

“Jamie’s my boyfriend. He was doing some computer thing at work so he stayed late and I said I’d pick him up, since I won’t get to see him any this weekend because of the computer thing,” he said, grinning. “He’s so sweet like that,” he said and Tommy smirked.

“Wooohooo, somebody’s getting some later,” he said and Adam scoffed.

“I wish, by pick him up I mean drive him home so he doesn’t have to take the bus and so I get to see him after I haven’t seen him in a week,” he said and Tommy grinned, grabbing the things he needed.

“Awww, he sounds sweet. How long have you guys been together?” he asked, looking up as he grabbed the orange juice.

Adam shrugged on his coat and smiled. “Five months. He’s works at a library and he’s really smart and he has like… future plans and stuff. It’s awesome!”

Tommy smirked. “Alright, go see your nerd boy,” he said, saluting Adam as he headed out with a wave. He finished mixing the drink and shut off the lights behind the bar before making his way towards what he assumed was the door to backstage. He headed down a red corridor, passing a few of the queens half-out of their drag already as they conversed, stopping when he reached the door to the dressing room. 

He knocked, waiting for a reply before walking in. “Hey Adam-“ Tommy looked up and the man sitting at the mirror raised eyebrow. “Not Adam, but hi anyways,” he said and Tommy smiled.

“Adam skipped out early to go pick up his boyfriend,” he said, walking over. He set the glass down on the counter, since the man was busy taking the pins out of his wig. “Raja, right?” he asked curiously, receiving a smile.

“Yes, ma’am. Although I’m halfway down to plain ol’ Sutan,” he said and Tommy grinned.

“Tommy,” he offered, trying not to stare, only to get caught.

Sutan smirked as he finally pulled his wig off. “Anything else? Or are you just totally amazed by a drag queen turning back into a guy?” he teased and Tommy ducked his head shyly.

“Sorry, it’s just really cool, like… your hair’s pretty short, how do you get the wig to stay on?” he asked curiously, then cringed. “Wow, sorry, personal, huh? Ignore me, it’s late,” he said, shaking his head as he turned to scuffle out before he embarrassed himself more.

“Lots of pins,” Sutan answered, then shrugged. “And no, it’s okay, I get it. Not all of us sleep late like me, I forget a lot of people get groggy this late at night,” he said.

Tommy laughed, taking it as permission to stay. He walked back over and hopped up on the makeup counter. “Well, this is my second job, I get up early and stay up late, so I’m sort of a zombie right now,” he said, cringing. “Doesn’t make the girlfriend happy, but she sure as shit likes our apartment.”

Sutan shot him an amused look as he started wiping off all his makeup. “Girlfriend? Damn, you’re telling me a pretty little thing like you likes _girls_?” he asked and Tommy snickered.

“Everybody does that! What, a guy can’t be pretty _and_ straight?” he defended, earning a pointed look.

“ _Straight_?! I was suggesting bisexual, oh my God, you’re ONLY into girls?” he asked, gaping. “You’re wearing makeup!”

Tommy crossed his arms. “And that automatically makes me gay? Dude, that’s totally stereotyping,” he said earning a shrug and a smirk.

“Well, they’re stereotypes for a reason, aren’t they?” Sutan teased, then laughed. “Man, I bet you confuse the hell out of people out there at the bar, honey.”

“Well,” Tommy gave him a bashful look. “I know how to get tips, and it isn’t by advertising my heterosexuality to the guys who flirt. Number one rule to being a bartender, learn how to flirt for tips. For the boys I pout a little and bat my eyelashes, for the girls I smirk and call them ‘gorgeous’ or ‘cutie’,” he said and Sutan grinned.

“Tricky little bitch, huh?” he teased and Tommy shrugged.

“Did I mention the expensive ass apartment?” he pointed out and Sutan smiled. He had a nice smile, Tommy decided. Tommy felt his phone vibrate and he jumped. “Actually,” he looked at his phone and cringed when he saw he had four missed text messages. “Fuck, I got to go, she’ll be so pissed if I’m late again,” he said, sliding off the counter. “It was nice meeting you,” he said and Sutan smiled.

“You too, honey! Come see me again sometime,” he said, waving at Tommy as he rushed out the door.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When Tommy had gotten a job at Pixie Dust Presents, he figured he’d make better money for him and his girlfriend. Erin couldn’t keep a job, she just never fit in with the teams wherever she worked. He had made good on his tips the first few nights, he liked his fellow bartenders and the waiters and waitresses, and he liked watching the queens performing between customers.

Erin didn’t like him being gone every night, but he kept reminding her it was that or she got a job and stuck with it. 

Tommy was exhausted when he got home. His day job started at nine, meaning he had to be up at six in order to get ready and catch his bus at seven fifty. His job there ended at five, leaving him two hours to get to Pixie Dust Presents and get changed in the back room before his shift started at seven. The club closed at one during the week and he was ready to go by about one thirty. It was a shorter bus home, so he was at home by two thirty and in bed by three if he was lucky. He had once suffered insomnia, but when he worked on about three hours of sleep five days of the week, exhaustion totally killed any sleeplessness he had once suffered.

Tommy was so tired by thursday night (or friday morning, depending how you looked at it) that he didn’t even notice that Erin was in the closet doing something until he was pulling on his most comfy sweatshirt to go to bed. “Hey, look what I bought today,” Erin said as she came out. Tommy looked up and smiled at her, admiring her lacy black lingerie with red trim, though internally he was cursing how expensive it had to have been. “You like it?” she asked, smirking at him.

Tommy nodded. “Looks good, baby,” he said, walking over to kiss her cheek before turning to head back to the bed. “Can you turn off the light when you’re done?” he asked, yawning as he pulled back the covers and practically poured himself into bed.

Tommy moaned happily as he wiggled around to get comfortable, only to be brought back from the edge of immediate-shutdown-sleep by an offended scoff. “Excuse me?! I’m standing here in brand new sexy lingerie and all I get is a ‘great, I’m going to sleep’?!” Erin asked.

Tommy groaned, rolling over to look up at her. “Urgh, what?” he asked tiredly, blinking up at her.

Erin glared and yanked the covers off of him. “Can you really be this stupid, Tommy? What could I possibly be going for modeling lingerie for my boyfriend?” she asked and Tommy groaned, rolling his eyes.

“Erin, please, I’ve got to be up in like... just over three hours. I’ve slept about nine hours out of the last seventy-two-” He was cut off as she kissed him, crawling on top of him. “Erin, no, really I need sleep-”

“No you need to fuck me,” Erin growled, pushing his sweatshirt up to get at the waist of his pajamas. Tommy groaned, whining as she bit his lip harder than felt good. He held his hands up to push her back some, only to wince when he felt her get her hand down his pants and realize he wasn’t even the slightest bit aroused. “Tommy, what the fuck?!” she demanded and he cringed.

“Baby, I’m just too _tired_ -”

Erin gave him a disgusted look and shoved his shirt back down. “God, you can’t do anything right, can you?” she demanded, then grabbed him by the hair, pulling him into a harsh kiss. “Fine, whatever, get me off,” she demanded, pulling his hands to her hips, directing him to push at her panties.

Tommy glared. “Erin, I want to _sleep_ , I’m fucking sorry I have to sleep, but I’m just human-”

“Clearly not enough of one, you never fucking want sex, what kind of man are you?!” she complained as she fell to the side and kicked her panties off herself. 

Tommy let her drag him over to her, glaring as he let her push his hands down between her legs. “Well excuse the fuck out of me for being tired after I work two damn jobs while you sit on your ass-”

“Shut up,” she hissed, shoving a hand over his mouth, digging her nails into his wrist until he got busy, following her command. As he fingered her, hoping to get things done fast, she moved her hand and kissed him aggressively, yanking on his hair until he had tears in his eyes and whined. “Fuck, c’mere, baby,” she breathed, rolling onto her back, pulling Tommy on top of her by his hair. 

“Erin, I just want to go to sleep, fuck can’t you just do this yourself?” he all but begged, so tired he could barely keep his eyes open.

“Go down on me,” she said and Tommy winced when she shoved at his head. He had worked out that he’d never get left alone if he didn’t just listen. He only hoped he didn’t fall asleep on her and piss her off even more.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy yawned his way through his entire shift at work, stopped by Starbucks on his way to Pixie Dust Presents, and jittered his way through his bartending shift on a caffeine high. It was Friday night so not only were they open until three, but he had agreed a few days back to clean up and shut down just him and Brad so that Adam could go home right after closing. 

“Seriously, I feel bad about pulling this more often than either of you,” Adam said as they were serving last call, meaning he had thirty minutes before he left. 

Brad scoffed. “Bitch please, you’re the only one of us managing to keep a boyfriend, like Tommy and I want to fuck that up,” he said, grabbing a few beers to serve to a table of rowdy drunks.

Adam nudged Tommy. “Tommy’s got a girlfriend,” he corrected and Brad stopped to put his hands on his hips and glare.

“So wait, I’m the prettiest one of us and I’m _the only one single_?!” he demanded. 

“Is Cheeks bitching again?” Tommy looked up at the voice and then rolled his eyes when Adam rushed over and nearly knocked him out of the way.

“You’re early! I can’t go for about half an hour!” Adam gushed, smiling brightly before leaning over the counter to kiss the guy sitting there.

Tommy quirked an eyebrow and turned to Brad. “Cheeks is my nickname,” he said, winking.

Tommy snickered. “Seriously, him?” he asked in a lower voice and Brad shrugged, giggling.

“Love is funny sometimes, huh?” he said, and Adam turned back to Tommy, who gave him his full attention as Brad took his tray of beers and left.

“Tommy! This is my boyfriend, James Sato,” Adam said, introducing the short, skinny man wearing a striped, collared shirt complete with a _tie_ , and narrow, professional looking glasses. He had slightly shaggy black hair, but it was about the only thing that didn’t scream ‘data entry’ about the man. “Jamie, this is my new friend, Tommy Ratliff,” he said and Tommy grinned, offering the guy a hand over the bar.

James smiled. “Nice to meet you, Adam got excited about having some help around here, so I heard a lot about you,” he said and Tommy just laughed.

“He literally never shuts up about you,” he said and Adam flushed, ducking his head some when James shot him a look. “Seriously,” Tommy continued. “Keep this one, doubt anybody’s ever been as obsessively cheerful about their boyfriend as Adam. I mistake him for a twelve year old girl some days-"

“Tommy!” Adam hissed, glaring as he hipchecked him out of the way. “Ignore him!” he said brightly. “Tommy, help that guy, I’m good here,” Adam said and Tommy just smirked and saluted him, not at all missing that he was being shut up.

After they finished serving drinks for last call, Tommy worked his way through the crashing of his caffeine high to wash glasses so that he only had to mop after closing. He was _exhausted_. He was only glad he didn’t have to get up at six in the morning the next day.

“Tommy, I’m headed out. Can you get Raja’s usual drink?” Adam asked coming back from the back with his jacket.

Tommy smirked. “Have a nice date,” he teased and Adam huffed, even if James, who was still sitting at the counter, laughed.

“Honey, please forget you ever met him and Bradley, okay?” he asked, walking around to stand behind James, who just grinned as he slid off the stool and shrugged his jacket back on. 

“I really don’t mind, they wouldn’t tease you if they didn’t like you,” he said, sliding his hand into Adam’s. 

Adam just poked his tongue out at Tommy over his boyfriend’s head as they started out, making Tommy crack up as he started mixing Raja’s drink.

Brad came back with the mop, smirking. “Did you tease him before letting him go?” he asked and Tommy nodded. “Good! God, I love messing with Adam’s head!”

Tommy just shook his head. “No offense to his guy, he’s a really nice guy seems like, but how did _Adam_ , the most over the top guy I’ve ever met, end up with a… nerd,” he said, scrunching up his nose. “Not that James isn’t attractive, he’s got a really sweet face in a cute and nerdy way, and clearly Adam is crazy for him, but… well if you’re anything to go by, Adam used to date sexy and slutty, not sweet and nerdy,” he said and Brad huffed.

“And who are you calling slutty, whore?” he asked, then rolled his eyes. “I dunno, Adam came in one day talking about a cute guy he ran into at some book store he’d gone to with his brother, someone his brother knew, and when they left Adam’s brother invited the friend to lunch with them and Adam apparently saw the clouds open up and a hallelujah chorus the entire time they were around James, because he never shut up about him and he even sunk to asking his brother about James.” Brad smirked. “His brother didn’t realize he liked him so he just said he worked at the library and suddenly, Adam took up an interest in reading,” he said and Tommy chortled in amusement. Brad shrugged. “Adam basically kept failing to talk about anything of substance to Jamie until he finally caught up with it and asked Adam what the hell he was doing, cause- well, to be fair, he isn’t exactly the type of boy a sexy, fabulous gay man like Adam dates, you know?” He waved a hand. “Anyways, Adam asked him out eventually and Jamie honestly didn’t get it for like… the first month they were dating.”

Tommy snickered. “Well, if I was a nerdy little guy I’d be unused to really hot guys hitting on me, too. Adam’s like… the kind of hot you see in magazines, you know?” he said and Brad scoffed.

“Don’t I know it. That bitch. My hair’s all falling out and he keeps losing weight and getting hotter the older he gets,” he said, grumbling as he started mopping. 

Tommy laughed at Brad’s expression and shook his head as he went to take Raja her drink. He knocked before entering, smiling when Raja saw him and turned to make grabby hands at the drink. “Somebody’s thirsty,” he teased and she snorted, rolling her eyes, one of which still had false eyelashes on.

“God, I’m tired.” She took her drink and moaned as she took a sip. “Six shows a week is shit,” she said and Tommy smiled, hopping up on the counter.

Since the first meeting, Tommy had grown to enjoy the nights he got to bring Raja her drink. They always sat and chatted for a few minutes before Tommy left. It was never much of substance, but it was nice to talk to someone new and different. “You’re tired?” he teased, groaning as he leaned back against the mirror, slumping. “I’m _exhausted_ ,” he said, yawning. “My triple red-eye from before shift left me a while back.”

Raja hummed, going back to becoming Sutan. “Should sleep more, party less TommyJoe,” she said and Tommy smirked at his nickname she’d started calling him when he mentioned his middle name. “Even pretty little things like you need sleep.”

Tommy rolled his eyes tiredly. “I work ninety hours a week, dude. I don’t have _time_ to sleep, much less party,” he said, yawning.

Raja started. “ _Ninety_ hours a week?! What the hell?” she asked and Tommy shrugged.

“I’ve got a nine to five during the week, working here every night of the week and weekend. I think I got like… about twelve hours of sleep this week? I’m wiped. Most weeks I get a good fifteen.” He shrugged. “Last night I was exhausted but my girlfriend wanted me to spend some time with her, so I just put off sleeping really. More of a nap than a sleep.” He smiled at the shocked look on Raja’s face. “It’s cool though, tonight I’ll go home and sleep until my shift starts tomorrow night. Recharge the batteries,” he explained.

Sutan- Raja had finally left the room, almost all of the makeup removed- just shook his head. “Honey, you can’t live like that for long,” he warned and Tommy grinned.

“I’m doing alright. Been like this for about a year now.”

“What about your friends? Family?” Sutan asked. “If you just work and sleep, what do you do about that? Or just taking a breather and having fun?”

Tommy sat up and smiled. “Well, I have fun working here, honestly. And I get to hang out with Adam and Brad between rushes, so that’s cool. I generally call my mom and sister on between my jobs or at lunch or something.” He tipped his head. “I’m thirty, fun ends at thirty,” he said and Sutan huffed.

“You’re _thirty_?!” He groaned. “You lucky shit, you look about twenty-three,” he said and Tommy laughed.

“You don’t exactly look ancient yourself, dude. Although I guess Raja’s makeup might hide some age,” he said and Sutan leaned back, crossing one long leg across the other, sipping his drink.

“Honey, I’m thirty-eight years old. I’m so old I’m waiting for bits to fall off. I’m sure I’ll be doing upgrades soon enough,” he said and Tommy rolled his eyes.

“You are not that old. Look at you! You look amazing,” Tommy said, ducking his eyes. “Seriously, I’m straight and even I can’t get over your legs,” he said and Sutan smirked.

“Well as short as you are that isn’t surprising-“

“Hey!” Tommy cried in contempt, laughing along with Sutan after a minute. “I’m not short, I’m… petite,” Tommy said, cracking up when Sutan shot him a look. 

“Honey, you’re tiny. You’re like a pocket sized goth,” he said and Tommy rolled his eyes.

“I barely wear makeup-“

“Barely my ass! You’re wearing more eyeliner than I thought the human eyelid could handle!” Sutan said and Tommy shrugged.

“Well, I used to be a little metal head. I can’t give it all up. I had to give up my eyebrow and lip ring. The only reason I kept the hair and the earrings is because I work in IT so no customers see me at the ‘professional’ job.” He made a face. “I haven’t played my guitar in months, actually,” he admitted sadly.

Sutan gave him a sympathetic look. “Grownup life hit, huh?” he asked and Tommy groaned.

“I think some days I should just give it all up and join a band again, but my girlfriend wouldn’t ever let me do that,” he said. “She likes her stuff and has a problem keeping a job. I guess she’s hard to get along with unless you get to know her. I work for both of us, though, so it’s alright.”

Sutan just nodded. “You guys been together long?” he asked and Tommy nodded, smiling slightly.

“Yeah, four years.” He looked up and sighed. “Four _long_ years,” he said. “Been through a lot, though. I owe her for really keeping us going when my dad died. I was really messed up for a few weeks and she took care of everything for me. Her name’s Erin,” he said and Sutan smiled.

“You seem to love her a lot,” he said and Tommy made a face.

“I guess, we’re just not really all feely-emotional with each other that much. I doubt I’ve heard an ‘I love you’ in a good two years, really. Not really our way,” he said, then shrugged it off. “Speaking of Erin, I really need to go home,” he added as he slid off the counter.

Sutan smiled. “Hey, come meet me back stage before your shift tomorrow night, I’ve got an idea!” he said excitedly and Tommy gave him a playfully apprehensive look as he waved and left. “Goodnight, tiny Tommy!”

“Night!” Tommy called back, smiling and shaking his head as he tried to imagine what was in store for him the next day.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“Where are you going?” Erin asked when Tommy came out of the bedroom already dressed. “You don’t have to leave for an hour,” she said pointedly. “I figured we could spend the afternoon together. Hang out closer to work so you don’t have such a long bus ride there and back. Maybe go shopping!” she said brightly and Tommy cringed.

“I’m going in early at the request of one of the drag queens. No idea what she wants, but if I want to get there with enough time to go back before the shows start, I need to leave and catch the bus. The next one won't be early enough, I’ll just get there in time to start working.” 

Erin crossed her arms. “So you’re ditching me for a drag queen?”

Tommy sighed. “No, baby, it’s _work_. She’s the head queen, if I piss her off, there’s no telling what she might tell management, you know?” He walked over and leaned over the back of Erin’s chair to kiss her. “I’d definitely rather spend some time with you, okay?” he asked, kissing her again. “But if you want to go shopping all the time, I need this job.”

Erin just huffed. “Whatever, Tommy. Just get out. And you better be home right after work, I am seriously tired of going to bed alone, damn it,” she commanded and Tommy nodded.

“Alright, honey, I’ll be home as soon as I can,” he promised, grabbing his jacket on the way out.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When Tommy got to Pixie Dust Presents, he wasn’t surprised to see that the only ones there an hour before everybody was due there were a few of the queens and one bouncer. He nodded to the man on his way in and made his way down the hall backstage towards Raja’s dressing room. He knocked and waited for a ‘come in’ before he headed in. He was surprised to see the man behind the mask-so to speak- fully out of drag when he walked in. “Hey TommyJoe!” Sutan said, jumping up from his spot sitting in front of the makeup counter organizing brushes. He pulled Tommy into a hug in greeting, surprising Tommy enough that he almost didn’t hug back fast enough. “God, you are tiny, I’ve never stood next to you before,” Sutan said, looking down at Tommy. 

“Damn, and that’s in sneakers,” Tommy said, looking down at Sutan’s feet. “Fuck, what are you, a tree?!” he teased, winking as he smiled up at Sutan.

Sutan rolled his eyes. “Not my fault you’re the pixie at Pixie Dust Presents,” he countered, turning to pat the makeup chair. “Take a seat! Mama’s gotta do you fast so she has time to get her own face on,” he said brightly.

Tommy laughed and followed his directions. “You didn’t actually tell me what you wanted me here for, so I’m basically trusting you’re not about to like… tranq me and steal my liver,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows as he pulled his feet up onto the edge of the seat, looking at Sutan over his knees.

Sutan smiled brightly. “Your tattoos tell it already, but it’s very obvious you watch horror movies,” he teased, then pushed Tommy’s hair back out of his fair, grabbing a clip to keep his bangs to one side. “No, you’re so fucking pretty, when I saw the boring eye makeup you slathered on, I had to get my hands on that pretty little face!” He turned back to the makeup counter and picked up some newly washed brushes. “Have you ever heard Adam or Cheeks mention what my job was before I got really successful as Raja?” he asked, opening a container as he talked.

Tommy put his legs down and sat up straighter. “No, but I do have a question before you tell me!” he said suddenly. “Why did you and Adam’s boyfriend both call Brad ‘Cheeks’?” he asked. “He said it was a nickname, but why Cheeks?”

Sutan smirked. “Well, the tell-all is the fact the boy has cheekbones like a supermodel, the bedroom-version is that sweet little ass of his,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. “I don’t remember if it was me or Adam who gave him the nickname, but my money is on Adam, since when they dated, nobody else was getting the bedroom-version of anything Bradley Bell! Adam’s a lot of things, but one of them is definitely monogamous.” He smiled at Tommy. “Don’t let the hippy exterior fool you, Adam Lambert is a good boy at heart, and his heart is the biggest part of him- ignoring his dick- so he can’t stand the idea of sharing somebody he likes.” He grinned, brandishing a brush. “Alright, tip your face up to me, sweetie, I’m gonna make you all purty,” he teased, earning a bright smile from Tommy as he followed his instructions.

“Alright, I’m assuming you do this a lot?” Tommy asked and Sutan grinned.

“Well as I was trying to say, I was a makeup artist. That was my profession and drag was my hobby. Then eventually drag became my profession and that was that.” Sutan cupped Tommy’s chin, looking at his cheeks as he shaded and shadowed to bring out his cheekbones. “So! You met Adam’s boyfriend, huh?” he asked, smirking. “We Asians are sexy.”

Tommy snickered. “Big difference in you and a tiny little half-Japanese boy, dude. You’re eight feet tall and dark skinned, he’s about five feet tall and really pale for how dark his hair is.”

Sutan rolled his eyes. “We’re still prettier than you,” he said, poking out his tongue playfully.

Tommy giggled at his behavior. “Hey, which of us is the oldest?”

Sutan smirked. “Exactly! Childish behavior keeps us young, honey! It’s the secret to a happy life! That and tons and tons of sex,” he said, grinning impishly. “Close your eyes,” he said, holding Tommy’s face with one hand as he carefully brushed makeup across Tommy’s eyelids. Tommy found it somewhat soothing and calming to sit so still while the unpredictable eye shadow brush swept across his upper lids. A silence fell between them as Sutan worked, but it was far from uncomfortable. Tommy felt so peaceful in the quiet of the dressing room, the only point anchoring him to reality being the makeup brushes and Sutan’s hand on his face.

“My girlfriend wasn’t happy I left early,” Tommy admitted suddenly, not at all sure why he felt like bringing it up. Sutan gave him an understanding look when he opened his eyes again but didn’t speak, clearly waiting for Tommy to continue on his own as he got a different brush from his kit. “She doesn’t like how little time we get together. She wanted to go shopping together before I had to get the bus to work.”

Sutan hummed. “She wants to spend more time together, yet she wants to go shopping when you’re already working two jobs to support you guys, which is _why_ you don’t spend much time together,” Sutan said, not making it clear what his opinion was on the matter, simply stating the facts clearly.

Tommy hummed. “Yeah, I don’t know. I think she gets it sometimes. Other times I think she just can’t really _get_ it.” He shrugged. “It isn’t always bad, though.”

Sutan smiled. “Clearly not, you wouldn’t have been together so long if it wasn’t worth it,” he said, then tapped Tommy’s chin. “Do like this.” He demonstrated opening his mouth like a relaxed ‘O’, nodding when Tommy copied him so he could start painting Tommy’s lips.

Tommy watched Sutan as he worked, only to feel a bit of excitement when Sutan stepped back some and inspected the overall effect. He shook his head, rolling his eyes. “Ridiculous. Simply ridiculous,” he said, then smiled as he grabbed some mousse and rubbed it into Tommy’s hair, blowing it dry so that it was somewhat messy and ruffled, not so neatly brushed aside. He shook his head once more, grinning brightly. “It’s just not normal,” he said simply before spinning Tommy around to face the mirror. Tommy looked at his reflection and gasped, jaw dropping.

He was _beautiful_.

Tommy smiled brightly and stood up quickly, leaning closer to look at himself. His cheek bones stood out some and his skin looked more like porcelain than ever due to whatever powders Sutan had put on his cheeks. His eyes were a mixture of purples and blacks and grays, all heavily hooded and sultry looking. His eyelashes were long and curled to make his eyes look even bigger. His hair was fluffy and looked very soft. But the thing that stood out most was his lips. Tommy had always heard he had nice lips, but with his lips painted so that the outer edges were nearly black and the plumpest parts of his lips were nearly bright red, extremely glossy and wet looking all over, he looked like some weird gothed out doll. 

Only more sexy than scary. “Wow,” he whispered, touching his own cheek in disbelief.

Sutan grinned. “You’re _gorgeous_ ,” he gushed, then shook his head. “Honey, too bad you are such a straight guy, because you would be one HELL of a drag queen,” he teased, only to smile when Tommy turned around and threw his arms around Sutan, hugging him as he tucked his head under Sutan’s chin.

“Thank you! I just… wow,” he breathed, laughing a giddy little laugh when he pulled back. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this pretty,” he admitted and Sutan smiled, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“TommyJoe, you’re a beautiful little thing,” he said, then smirked. “Now, get your sexy little face out there and make lots of tips!” he said, swatting Tommy on the ass as he turned him towards the door. “Tranma’s gotta get her face on,” he said and Tommy smiled, turning back as he opened the door.

“I’ll see you after the show, no doubt,” he said and Sutan just smiled and nodded before Tommy turned and walked out, a new pep in his step as he walked down the hall to go get ready for his shift, feeling better about the world in general than he had in a long time.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy looked up when Brad came in, only to smile shyly when Brad gaped, dropping his bag as he looked at Tommy. “Jesus Christ, I hate you!” he said, rolling his eyes. “Your face is stupid,” he huffed, grabbing his bag to go take it to the back. Adam just smiled at him when he saw him. 

“Awww, you look so pretty!” He reached out and touched Tommy’s hair. “I like it, you’re really hot,” he said, nodding at the doors. “When they start coming in, you better be prepared for every gay boy and straight girl we get to hit on you. Hell some of the lesbians might even flirt with you!” he said and Tommy blushed.

“I’m not _that_ feminine!” he argued and Adam laughed and shrugged.

“You’re really pretty tonight, Tommy. Don’t knock it!”

It wasn’t until later in the night that Brad finally got a few minutes and stopped beside Tommy, watching him work. “Okay, spill. Why did you dress up?” he asked and Tommy raised an eyebrow at him. “All the face shit and the looking stupidly pretty and stealing all the tips,” he said, pouting.

Tommy laughed. “I couldn’t do this, no way. I’m bad enough at my eyeliner I like to do,” he said and Adam nudged past him to get some ice.

“So if you didn’t, who did?” Adam asked and Brad shooed him.

“We’re talking, butt out, pretty boys only.” Brad stuck his tongue out at Adam, who just flipped him off, earning an offended gasp.

Tommy giggled. “It was Sutan. He asked me to come early tonight so I got here about an hour before shift started. He wanted to make me pretty,” he said, shrugging. “He told me he couldn’t resist going back to his makeup artist days with my face.”

Adam smirked. “Don’t blame him, a face like yours? The perfect canvas for a makeup artist! Smooth skin, perfect lips, and great eyes to play with!”

Brad just huffed. “I hate you and Sutan both. _I’m_ supposed to be the prettiest one, damn it!” he said, and Tommy just rolled his eyes.

“Just take comfort in knowing that you have a great ass and mine sucks,” he said with a faux-solemn nod. 

Brad just rolled his eyes and smiled in spite of himself. “Well, I do have a great butt, don’t I?” he asked, looking back at his ass.

Tommy just shook his head and shared an amused grin with Adam when Brad bounced off to take some more orders, the pep back in his step.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Before he went out, Tommy had slept almost all day, woke up and spent an hour or so just watching TV and cuddling with Erin, and then got dressed, using the makeup Sutan had told him to buy a few weeks ago to make himself look nice, even if it wasn’t Sutan-levels of pretty. When he got to work, he felt like it was going to be a good night.

When he got in a little early, he headed back to see Raja until his shift started. He knocked and heard a few ‘come in’s and opened the door, smiling when he came in and found not only Raja but a few of the other queens already getting ready. “TommyJoe!” Raja said, tossing up a hand from where she was finishing pinning her wig on.

“Tranma!” he remarked, walking over to hop onto the counter beside Raja, smiling brightly as he picked up a tube of lipstick. “Ooh, pretty blue,” he said, and Raja smirked.

“Lemme put it on you then,” she said and one of the other queens whistled.

“Turning TommyJoe into a little drag baby, Raja?” Scarlett asked, walking over to lean against the counter beside Tommy.

Tommy giggled. “She wishes,” he said, then obediently turned to face Raja, who cupped his cheek in one hand and started putting blue lipstick on him.

“TommyJoe ain’t a baby anyways, girl. He’s older than you!”

Scarlett shot Tommy a look. “Bullshit.”

The other queen in the room, Fantasia, walked over and looked Tommy in the face. “No way this child is older than Scarlett, I’m two years younger than her!”

Raja smirked, grabbing some shimmery lip gloss to put on top of the lipstick. “Scarlett is twenty-eight and Fantasia’s twenty-six,” he said and when he finished Tommy smirked.

“I’m thirty,” he said and they both gave him flat looks.

“That ain’t even right,” Scarlett said, shaking her head.

Tommy grinned. “But what about my woman?!” he asked, slinging an arm around Raja’s waist when he stood up. “She looks awfully young too,” he said, winking up at Raja.

Raja just grinned. “You little shit,” she said, swatting at him. “Now shoo, you’re distracting with your pretty little face.”

Tommy slid off the counter and winked. “You know you just want me for my body, baby,” he teased and all the girls laughed at him.

Raja rolled her eyes and swatted his ass as he walked past her. “Oh yeah, honey, I can’t get enough of that flat ass and your skinny little body,” she deadpanned. 

Tommy just let out a dramatic sigh at the door. “Sorry ladies, appears my flat ass isn’t welcome anymore, I know you’ll mourn for my absence when all of this is gone,” he teased, gesturing to his face before blowing Raja a kiss and giggling his way out the door.

Scarlett smirked when he left. “Ooh, Raja you got a pretty one,” she teased and Raja laughed.

“I ain’t got nobody, his pretty little ass is straight,” she said, making a face. “God totally hates me, I’ve decided. Drops that pretty little boy in my lap and makes him not like boys.”

Fantasia clicked her tongue. “And since when has that stopped you, bitch,” she said, earning laughter as they all put finishing touches on their looks.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Adam whistled when Tommy came over. “Blue lips, going for icicle chic?” he teased and Tommy laughed.

“Raja had some fun with me this time,” he said and then froze when Brad smirked in amusement. “My makeup!” he said quickly, whining when they both snickered. “Shut up.”

Brad just grinned. “You two spend an awful lot of time together is all I’m saying.”

Tommy rolled his eyes. “I have a girlfriend.”

“But a drag queen is a girlfriend and a boyfriend all in one!” Adam said, earning a giggle from Brad.

Tommy flipped them both off, going to pour his first drink of the night. “You both suck.”

Brad sighed dramatically. “Not lately I don’t. Fucking boys. I can’t get a boyfriend that isn’t a dick.”

Tommy snickered. “If I wasn’t straight and didn’t have a girlfriend, I’d totally date you, Brad.”

Brad made a face. “Ew, I don’t want _you_. You’re a _boy_.”

Tommy shook his head in amusement and went back to work. It wasn’t until they were closer to closing that James came in while Adam was busy and Tommy walked over with a grin. “Hey dude, you haven’t been in here in ages,” he said, reaching out to high five James, who looked amused.

“I don’t make a habit of visiting drag bars, I generally only come when I’m picking up Adam,” he said and Tommy nodded. 

“Want something?” he asked, and James shook his head.

“I’m sober driver tonight for the party at Sutan’s,” he said, the glanced at Brad. “I’ve already told him, I’m not driving him if he picks up a boy,” he added and Tommy laughed. “Are you coming?” James asked and Tommy sighed and shook his head.

“My girlfriend would kill me if I went to a party,” he said, cringing. “I’d be sleeping on the couch for a month.”

James rolled his eyes. “That’s weak, why won’t she let you go to a party? I mean, they aren’t my thing, but it isn’t like it’s an orgy or something,” he said, then frowned. “Well, I don’t think so anyways. If it turns into one, we’re leaving real fast,” he said and Tommy snickered.

“What, you don’t want some hot orgy action?” he teased and James scoffed.

“Oh yeah, let me tell you, nothing says ‘great night’ like getting herpes,” he said in mock seriousness, making Tommy burst into giggles

“What’s funny?” Adam asked as he slid up, shoving Tommy aside to lean over the counter and kiss James.

“Just talking to James here, wondering why he wouldn’t want in on an orgy if the party turns into one,” Tommy said and Adam snorted.

“The hell he would! I’m not sharing my pretty little boyfriend with anybody else,” Adam asserted, glaring at Tommy, and James ducked his head bashfully. “And you, stop it, you’re gorgeous, stop playing modest,” Adam chastised, sharing a sappy smile with his boyfriend.

Tommy mimed gagging. “Spare me the soppy lovey shit,” he said, passing them to go take another customer’s order.

When it came time to close, Tommy was surprised to look up from finishing mopping to see Raja, still fully in her gear, walking to the bar. “TommyJoe!” Raja cheered, stopping to lean on the bar. “You coming to my party? I know Adam’s bring his sexy little Asian boy and Brad’s bringing… nobody.” She smirked. “Wanna be my sexy little white boy?” 

Tommy giggled. “Oh I wish, my girlfriend wouldn’t like it if I go to a party-“

“Fuck that!” Raja said, waving a hand. “Come on, sweetie, do you ever have fun?” she asked, putting a hand on his arm. “She’ll understand, I’m sure. You work your ass off to take care of her and you deserve a night off,” she said, then smirked. “Besides, she’ll be asleep, won’t she?”

Tommy bit his lip. “Well, it has been a long time since I hung out with friends…” He sighed and tossed his bangs. “Alright, alright. Fuck, you talked me into it,” he said and Raja cheered.

“Yay! We can all fit in James’s car too, so hurry up before they leave our skinny asses!” she said, ducking in to kiss Tommy’s cheek before starting out.

Tommy laughed. “Alright, alright, I’ll be there in a minute.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy couldn’t help but giggle when he slid into the car to sit in the middle and found himself between Raja and Brad, who had changed into the tightest pants Tommy had ever seen and had put makeup on. “I’m the only boy in the back seat!” he said, whining when Brad elbowed him.

Raja swatted at Brad. “Hey, don’t hit my TommyJoe!” Raja curled an arm around Tommy’s shoulders. “You are a pretty girl tonight, Bradley.”

“Bitch please, I am not a girl,” Brad said, rolling his eyes. “If I’m a girl that would make me _straight_ ,” he hissed with a look of disgust and Raja shuddered.

“Ew, true. Don’t be a girl then,” she said and Tommy huffed.

“Heeey, straight here!”

Raja smirked. “We don’t count you. You’re just a really butch lesbian to us,” he said and Tommy laughed.

“Bitch,” he said, though he didn’t argue too much. “Wait, if I’m a butch lesbian, does that mean I can stare at Raja’s ass? Cause I could get into that,” he asked Brad, who giggled.

“Straight my ass-“

“Hey,” Raja interrupted. “This ass is open to all attractions, honey. Boys, girls, gays, lesbians, straights, aliens… everybody loves my booty!”

Tommy grinned. “It is a nice ass,” he said and Raja blew him a kiss.

When they pulled up outside Raja’s place, Tommy was amused to see they were far from the first ones there. The door to the building was propped open and the party seemed to have started without anybody even being there. “Roommates,” she said as they piled out of the car. 

When they got inside, Tommy laughed when he was immediately dragged into the living room by babbling queens. “Raja brought her little skinny boy!”

“Lemme have him!”

“No, I want him,” Scarlett said, tugging Tommy into her lap, making him burst into giggles when he landed across her lap.

“Ladies, ladies, I know you want me, but I’m a taken man,” he joked, earning laughs all around.

Raja rolled her eyes as she passed behind the couch. “You bitches want my man,” she accused, earning laughs. “TommyJoe, there’s drinks in the kitchen, I think that’s where Adam and Brad went. Mama’s gotta go change, performance clothes are _not_ party clothes,” she said and Tommy nodded.

“Thanks, Tranma,” he called before looking back at Scarlett. “Sorry beautiful, I’m thirsty,” he said as he stood up, only to yelp and bat her hand when she snuck an ass grab. “Sneaky,” he accused, laughing when catcalls followed him out into the kitchen.

Brad shook his head with an amused smirk as Tommy stumbled into the kitchen. “Boy, you have those queens eating out of your hands,” he accused and Tommy smirked.

“I’m cute and the entire dressing room adopted me, it isn’t my fault! Maybe if you were a sweet, adorable little straight boy, they would love you as much!” Tommy said, poking his tongue out at him. 

Adam snickered from where he and James were fixing drinks at the counter. “You are only straight in your mind, Tommy.”

Tommy smirked and slapped James on the ass as he reached past him to grab a beer from the bucket of ice. “If I go gay, my first choice is your pretty boy,” he said, kissing James on the cheek as he ducked away when Adam swatted at him.

“The hell you are,” he said with a glare and James laughed, rolling his eyes at them both.

“Adam, I’m not a possession, and Tommy, you’re a great guy, but I’m just not attracted to you like that,” he said in mock solemnity.

Tommy smirked as he opened his beer. “I like you, if Adam ever leaves you, I’m totally kicking his ass,” he said as he turned to head back out. When he got out to the living room, Raja was walking from the back hall in a long, leopard print dress that was split high up the front and a different, long, flowing dark wig. “Looking good, Raja,” he said and Raja smirked.

“Gotta look classy if I’m hosting a party,” she said, and Tommy hooked an arm around her waist when she got to him. “Boy, where is that hand,” she chastised, snatching his wrist so that his hand was higher on her waist.

Tommy giggled, leaning into her side. “Told you, great ass,” he said, sipping his beer.

Raja rolled her eyes and tugged Tommy along, squishing into an armchair with Tommy, who smirked as all the girls started joking about Raja’s pet straight boy. When Adam, James, and Brad all joined the circle of friends, all laughing and joking, it wasn’t long before the conversation moved from Brad’s silvery, shimmery makeup to Tommy’s makeup, to Raja doing Tommy’s makeup, to how pretty Tommy would be as a girl, and, after quite a few beers later, it ended with Tommy sighing and finally saying, “Fuck it, fine, dress me up!” to Raja, who clapped excitedly as everybody cheered.

“Yes! I’m gonna make you all puuurty, TommyJoe!” Raja exclaimed as they stood up and rushed back to his ‘drag closet’, which was nearly bigger than his bedroom. Scarlett and Cherry both came with them, and Tommy laughed as he was dragged around the room and had outfits shoved at him from the three excited queens. 

“Ladies, ladies, I’m not _actually_ a doll!” he giggled, squeaking when he tripped over something on the floor and fell into a pile of scrap-fabric next to a table with a sewing machine on it. “Ahhh, help!” he squealed, giggling even more when he was fished out by Raja.

“Honey, you can tell you haven’t been drinking in a while,” she said, and Tommy stood up with a chuckle.

“Dude, I only had like… three beers and I’m tipsy,” Tommy said in amusement. “Fuck, I lost all my tolerance in the past year,” he said and Raja laughed.

“It’s okay, honey, you aren’t plastered so we can work with this,” she said, reaching over to push some things aside. “Scarlett, my darling, what do you think about a short skirt and a crop to?” she asked and Tommy whined.

“Noooo I have a fat, hairy tummy, dude,” he said, poking at his belly. “See? I’m jiggly.”

Cherry hummed. “I think she should keep the goth look, Tommy does that well,” she said, picking out a pink tartan mini skirt. “Thoughts?” she asked and Scarlett clapped.

“Love it!”

Raja cooed. “Ooh, I’ve got some sparkly black and silver tights! We just have to find a top now. You do that and I’ll do makeup!” she said, tugging Tommy over to sit at the vanity. “This is so much fun, you’re a doll, TommyJoe,” she said, kissing his cheek before grabbing cases and opening things so she could start on Tommy’s makeup.

It didn’t take but about thirty minutes before Tommy was coming out of the drag closet with his arm around Raja with a smile on his face. “Oh my GOD!” Brad cried, jaw dropping. He looked Tommy over and growled. “Unfair. Really unfair.”

Tommy was wearing sparkly tights, a short, pink tartan skirt, and a long-sleeved top with straps and buckles making it look like some sort of bondage-slash-corset device with a pink frilly bra peeking out of the top. His makeup was done flawlessly and his hair was fluffed and mussed gorgeously. “I know, I know, you all want me,” Tommy said, blowing Brad a kiss as he and Raja tumbled down onto the loveseat, giggling as they landed.

“Bitch please, this little girl kitty is mine.” Raja stroked Tommy’s jaw with a finger. “I amaze myself with how good I am sometime.”

Scarlett scoffed. “Bitch, he’s just got it naturally, you didn’t do much.”

Adam just laughed. “Oh my God, TommyJoe, you’re a girl!”

Tommy just blew him a kiss. “And you still want me!” he teased, then giggled at the grossed-out look on Adam’s face. “Raja, Raja they all can see up my skirt,” he said, tugging the skirt down to no avail. “Everybody’s looking at my booty.”

Raja grinned. “I think somebody’s had enough to drink,” she said, booping him on the nose, chuckling when Tommy wrinkled his nose adorably. Raja just shook her head, looking at his face. “God you are pretty,” she said, and Tommy wiggled his eyebrows at her.

“I know, I know, all the boys want me,” he said with a smirk. He shifted, trying to sit up straighter, only to look down and squeak, snatching his hand back. “Whoa, sorry, didn’t mean to grab your fake boobies,” he said, then snorted at the amused look on Raja’s face.

As the night wore on, everybody else besides the sober drivers were reaching various levels of inebriation. It wasn’t long before Tommy and Cherry were dirty dancing together while everybody else laughed at them. Tommy couldn’t remember having had more fun in the past year. It was nearly dawn when everybody eventually started going home. As Tommy changed back into his own clothes, Raja started shedding her own drag, making the transformation back into Sutan.

“I had a lot of fun tonight,” Tommy said as he buttoned his jeans, smiling up at Sutan.

“Well honey, I told you to have some fun for once!” Sutan grabbed a pair of shorts and tugged them on under his dress before pulling it off. “Fuck, that dress is hot,” he said and Tommy rolled his eyes.

“You sewed it,” he said, then stretched and yawned as he walked out with Sutan following him. As they got to the front door, where everybody was hugging and saying goodbye, Tommy turned and hugged Sutan, who smiled and petted his head. “Thanks for being awesome,” he said, looking up at Sutan, who just grinned.

“Thanks for being a good sport, sweetie,” he said, leaning down to peck Tommy’s lips. “Get some sleep, we’ve got to get our skinny asses to work tonight,” he said, shoving him at Brad, who waved at Sutan before he and Tommy walked out, leaning against one another.

“Bye, Tranma!” Tommy called back, blowing Sutan a kiss before the door shut behind him.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When Tommy got home, he was tired. He unlocked the door and opened it only to slam his face into the door when it stopped. He frowned and pushed again, only to look through the gap and see the chain was hooked. His jaw dropped and he grabbed his phone, pulling the door shut again as he called Erin. It didn’t even ring, it went to voice mail.

“Hi, this is Erin, I missed your call. If this is Tommy, sleep outside you little shit. Problem? Should’ve come home last night. You are in so much trouble.”

Tommy flinched and sighed, head hanging as he re-locked the door and decided he may as well go sleep in the car. Erin would be up before too long and he knew she would find him when she went to leave and go out with her friends.

Tommy had only just finally fallen asleep in his uncomfortable position when the door behind him opened and he tumbled out of the car with a yelp, landing hard on the asphalt. “Well look what I’ve found,” Erin said angrily, and Tommy shook his head, crawling up to his feet, only to yelp when Erin grabbed him by the wrist and snatched him up, shoving him against the car. “Where the fuck were you?!” she demanded, looking up at him.

Tommy cringed, trying to pull his wrist free. “Ow, Erin that hurts- OW!” he cried when she dug her nails in. “Erin-“

“Where were you?” she spat and he winced.

“I texted you, I went to a party-“

“Yeah, and where?!” she shouted and Tommy flinched away.

“My friend Sutan’s house. He had a party after closing at his place. Seriously, Erin, I told you where I was going to be-“

Erin shoved him against the car again. “Did I tell you you could go to a party?!” she demanded and Tommy bit his lip.

“No, but… I just wanted to go out with my friends-“

Erin growled and snatched him away from the door, shoving him aside so that he stumbled to the ground, palms stinging as he landed on the asphalt. “You spend all your fucking time at work and then you don’t even come home and spend a night with me. You’re never home anymore, Tommy. Sometimes I fucking wonder what use you even are. You’re so worthless! It’s _pathetic!_ ” she spat as she opened the door and slid into the driver’s seat.

Tommy swallowed hard, throat tight and eyes stinging. “But Erin, I work for you! And- And I just wanted to hang out with my friends _one time_ -“ Erin slammed the car door, started the car, and backed out, leaving Tommy sitting on his knees, staring after her in shock and confusion, not really sure what he had done to deserve the things she said.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“What happened to your palms, Tommy?” Adam asked, looking at the bandages wrapped around his hands.

Tommy cringed. “Tripped in the parking lot at my building,” he said and Adam caught his hand, looking at it. However, when he grabbed Tommy’s wrist, Tommy whined and yanked his hand away.

“Oh shit, sorry!” Adam said, though he caught Tommy’s hand again, watching him curiously as he pushed at his sleeve. He only saw a flash of bruising and scratches before Tommy snatched his hand away, pushing his sleeve back down. Tommy ducked his eyes and Adam frowned. “You sure you fell down?” he asked and Tommy nodded, giving him a shaky smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, ducking way to take someone’s order.

Adam watched him with a frown, wondering what could’ve made scratches on Tommy’s wrist like that when he fell.

After shift, after Tommy had left, Adam took Sutan his usual drink. “Hey!” Sutan said, already out of his drag. “I expected to see TommyJoe earlier, why didn’t he come see me?” he asked and Adam bit his lip.

“Tommy was weird tonight,” Adam said, looking up as he leaned against the counter. “He says he fell down in the parking lot when he got home, and his palms are all bandaged, but when I looked at his hands, I pushed his sleeve and saw he has scratches and bruises on his wrist like somebody grabbed him.”

Sutan frowned. “You think he got in a fight?” he asked and Adam shrugged.

“Why wouldn’t he admit it? He’s a _dude_ , he would be all ‘yeah, got my ass kicked, it was epic.’ Or something. I figure.” Adam bit his lip. “I’m sort of worried he may have been jumped.”

Sutan hummed. “You don’t think he’d have admitted it? I’m sure he wouldn’t be _embarrassed_ if he got jumped. We’d all be there for him, wouldn’t we? He should know that.”

Adam sighed. “I don’t know, I guess he’s okay so it doesn’t really matter, though.”

Sutan gave him a nod. “I’m sure if it was serious, Tommy would come to us,” he said and Adam nodded in agreement.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy was almost afraid to go home. Things with Erin had gotten bad before, there were days she had screamed half the night at him before, nights he didn’t get to sleep from all the shouting and kicking him out of bed. But she had never shoved him down and pushed him around before. Tommy wasn’t sure what to _do_ about it. 

When he got home, Erin acted like everything was normal. The curled up together to watch a movie and then went to bed as if she hadn’t slammed him against her car door and then threw him onto the ground. After a week of everything normal, Tommy was starting to think he had imagined it. 

He knew Adam figured something was up with the ‘fell down’ explanation about his hands and when the bruises cleared up enough for him to wear short sleeves again, he saw Adam looking at his wrists every once in a while. He even got a little upset when Sutan asked about his wrist and admitted Adam told him something about his hands.

After a while, though, Tommy generally just forgot the situation entirely. Erin even let him go out with Adam and James and Sutan a few times with minimal anger. 

One such night the bar had closed early for repairs and he and Brad were having movie night with Sutan at Brad’s place, Adam and James were both busy, and Tommy called Erin to make sure it was okay for him to stay late. “I promise it won’t be too late. I’ll be back before morning definitely, baby.”

“That’s fine, Tommy. Just make sure you’re back before the sun’s up, okay?” she asked and Tommy smiled.

“Yeah, I should be home around three I think,” he said, and Erin agreed that that was early enough.

After he got off the phone he ran back and leapt onto the couch, sprawling over Sutan. “Yay! I get to stay past curfew!” he joked and Sutan laughed, slinging an arm around Tommy, who flung his legs over Sutan’s lap and leaned back against his shoulder.

“Awesome, can we watch a movie with cursing too?!” he asked in mock excitement and Tommy grinned.

Brad flopped down at the end of the couch with a huff. “Speaking of movies, what are we watching?” he asked, offering the bowl of popcorn to the others.

Tommy sighed. “Well, I voted for The Shining but Princess Prissy Pants wanted to watch a girly movie and since it’s his house he won,” he said, pouting dramatically as he fluttered his eyelashes at Sutan.

Sutan grinned, squeezing Tommy some with the arm around his waist. “There is a hot guy in this movie. Suck it,” he said and Tommy let out a bark of laughter in surprise.

“Whatever, maybe the chick is hot,” he said and Brad rolled his eyes.

“Fucking straight boys.”

As they got into the film, Tommy kept looking between Sutan and Brad, both of whom sighed every once in a while. He snickered when they made squeaky noises at some dramatic moment, shaking his head in amusement. Brad groaned as they watched the lead walk in with his shirt undone at the top, showing a hint of chest. “I wish a man that beautiful would fall that stupidly in love with me,” he said, pouting.

Sutan snorted. “Fuck ‘fall in love’, just fall into my bed, hot guy,” he said, and Tommy tilted his head, making a face.

“That chick has no boobs, dude.” Sutan and Brad both made annoyed sounds and he scoffed. “What, you oogle the dude and I can’t comment on how flat-chested the lead chick is? She’s barely even pretty! Look at that face, she has a chin dimple and a giant nose,” he said, gesturing to the screen. “ _I_ make a hotter chick than that,” he added and Sutan snickered.

“Baby, you make a prettier anybody than her. You don’t count though, you and Brad are both stupidly cute,” he said, poking Tommy in the cheek before pulling him back into his side.

Tommy laid his head on Sutan’s chest and wiggled lower to get more comfortable. “The dude is hot though. I like his eyes,” he said and Brad snickered.

“Straight my ass, TommyJoe-“

“Sutaaaaan make him stoooop,” Tommy said, pouting up at Sutan, who glared at Brad.

“Let him keep thinking he’s straight, boy. If he wants to hide our super-secret love affair, that’s his choice,” he said and Tommy giggled, tucking his face into Sutan’s neck.

“But it isn’t really gay, we only make love when you’re in drag, so it’s only kind of bisexual at best!” Tommy played along, and Sutan smiled brightly down at him as Brad laughed from the other end of the couch.

It wasn’t until after the movie had gone off that Brad glanced down the couch and let out an ‘awwww’ when he saw Tommy curled up asleep in Sutan’s arms. Sutan saw him looking and shushed him, petting Tommy’s hair sweetly. “He doesn’t sleep much, just let him be,” he whispered, and Brad smiled.

“He does always look tired, doesn’t he? Poor baby,” he said, eyeing Tommy’s sleep-peaceful face. “Gotta say, never thought I’d be friends with a boy like TommyJoe, but he’s entirely impossible not to love to death, huh?” he asked softly and Sutan smiled.

“He’s like a pet. You just want to adopt him and cuddle him and look after him, don’t you?” he asked, and Brad nodded.

“And he’s just as annoying as a pet too. I bet he pisses on the floor and attacks the cleaning lady,” he said and Sutan had to bite his lip not to wake Tommy up with his laughter.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When Tommy woke up, he felt very warm. He wiggled and frowned at how lumpy his pillow was. “Mehhhhh,” he whined, rubbing his face into his pillow, protesting consciousness.

“If you get mascara on my shirt, I’ll strangle you, boy,” a voice said so close that Tommy screamed and jumped up, only to clutch his chest when he remembered to breathe. Sutan snickered. “Sorry honey, didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, reaching out to pet Tommy.

Tommy groaned. “Fuck you, Sutan. I nearly died just now.” He looked around, frowning. “Where’s Brad?”

Sutan smiled. “He left not long after the movie ended, but I decided to let you sleep,” he said and Tommy felt his heart leap into his throat.

“What time is it?!” he demanded, leaping to his feet to dig his phone out of his pocket, fighting with his tight pants.

Sutan frowned. “About six. If you’re worried about getting home, you can just stay and come to work with me tonight, it’s not a big deal-“

“Fuck, I have to go!” Tommy said and Sutan jumped up when Tommy all but ran to grab his coat and pull it on.

“Tommy?! What the hell?” he cried and Tommy cringed, turning back at the door.

“Sorry, really, but I told Erin I’d be home before morning. I meant to leave hours ago,” he said. He stood on his toes and kissed Sutan’s cheek. “I had fun though!” he said, and Sutan hugged him quickly, kissing the top of his head before unlocking the door for Tommy, who waved and rushed out.

“See you tonight,” Sutan called, and Tommy waved back, all but running down the hall.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When Tommy got home, the chain wasn’t locked at least. He walked inside and was relieved to see Erin was still asleep. He bit his lip and decided to just go ahead and sleep on the couch. It was only a few hours later that Tommy woke up to a show slamming into his belly.

“Get up, lazy ass,” Erin snapped and Tommy groaned, looking at the shoe that had bounced off of his middle. “I said, get up!” she snapped, kicking the couch.

Tommy whined. “Erin, that hurt,” he said with a pout.

Erin startled a cry out of him as she grabbed him by the hair and snatched him off the couch to his feet. “I thought you said you would be home before morning?!” she demanded, shoving Tommy away from her. He tripped over the coffee table and fell to the floor.

“ERIN!” he cried, scrambling to his feet. “What the fuck?!” he shouted and she circled around to where he was standing.

“I said,” she grabbed him by the throat, shoving him against the wall. “I thought you would be home by morning?!”

Tommy gaped. “I- I tried, I fell asleep-“

“ALL YOU FUCKING DO IS WORK AND SLEEP!” she screamed in his face. “I let you go out _once_ and you stayed out later than you promised _asleep_?! You could’ve been here with me!”

Tommy wiggled against her hold. “Erin, you’re hurting m-AH!” Tommy cried out in shock and pain when Erin backhanded him, pain exploding across his face from his cheekbone to his mouth. “Erin?! STOP!” he shouted and she drew back and hit him again. He shoved her off of him, cringing when she fell down. “Erin? Erin, I’m sorry, are you okay? I don’t want to hurt yo-“

Tommy was silenced as Erin scrambled to her feet and close-fist punched him, knocking his head back into the wall behind him. He slid down the wall, clutching his face in pain, only to cry out again when Erin drew back and kicked him in the side, only to let out a loud sob as she kicked him again and again and again. When she finally stopped, Tommy was left curled up, fighting to breathe through the pain. “Er-Erin,” he choked out and she just glared before turning away.

“Clean yourself up before I’m home if you know what’s good for you,” she said as she grabbed her bag and walked out.

Tommy lay on the floor for a while in shock, more confused than ever. He eventually struggled to his feet and went to the bathroom to inspect the damage. He let out a gasp as he saw his face. His bottom lip was split to one side, blood dripping down his chin. His right cheekbone was an angry red and sure to bruise, as well as his eye above it, all puffy and red. He whimpered and pulled his shirt up to see his side and stomach both an angry red, and so sore he was sure the bruising would start soon. He didn’t even know how to respond. He had never imagined he would ever get beaten by his girlfriend. He couldn’t imagine Erin had done that. He knew she wasn’t the nicest person, but she was the person he shared his life with. He knew things weren’t exactly normal for him, she demanded a lot, but he still couldn’t believe she had actually _hurt_ him.

Tommy knew he only had a few hours before work so he got in the shower, deciding to get that done with before he started trying to cover all the damage.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy was glad for the dim light at the bar when he got to work because his eye was swollen nearly shut and his lip, though not bleeding and camouflaged as best as he could with makeup, was split obviously. There were bruises across his cheekbone under his black eye as well. He had marks on his neck as well, but the makeup covered it well enough. His ribs weren’t broken, thankfully, but the bruises along his side and stomach were bad under his shirt.

All in all, he was able to keep his head down so that the dim light didn’t show his swollen eye and cut lip, keeping Adam or Brad from seeing. He knew they both thought something was strange, but he hoped they believed he was just tired or something. He didn’t speak to them, and he didn’t flirt with as many customers. He knew he was moving uneasily and slower than usual, but he hoped he was doing his job well enough.

However, he didn’t really get worried until Adam asked him to take Raja’s usual drink back stage. He walked the hall hiding his face from the girls who passed, even the ones who called out to him. He took a breath before knocking. When he walked in, he was surprised to see Sutan already packing up his things. “Oh hey TommyJoe! I’m glad you came, I wanted to see if you wanted to come to my place. Brad and I decided last night was fun so we’re ordering late night Chinese and watching a movie!”

Tommy bit his lip but kept his head down as he set Sutan’s drink on the counter. “No thanks, maybe another time,” he said, then started to walk out.

Sutan followed him with a frown. “TommyJoe, what’s wrong? You’re never quiet. Where’re you in such a hurry to go?” he asked, catching Tommy’s elbow.

Tommy shrugged and flashed Sutan a quick smile before turning away. “I’m just tired is all-“

“What the hell?!” Sutan grabbed him and turned him around again and Tommy cringed, knowing he had been caught. Sutan gasped, reaching out to cup Tommy’s cheek, only to stop inches away, gaping at how puffy Tommy’s eye was. “Is that a black eye under the makeup?” he asked, and Tommy swallowed hard, ducking his head. “Tommy?”

“I’m-“ His voice broke and he swallowed hard. “I’m fine. Really.”

Sutan tipped his head up, fingers under Tommy’s chin. “Honey, what happened?” he asked softly, looking at Tommy’s swollen eye. He looked at his lip and touched it with his thumb gently, wincing when Tommy flinched. “Who hurt you, sweetie?” 

Tommy sniffled, before looking up at Sutan with wet, tear-filled eyes. The worried look on his friend’s face made him realize he couldn’t remember the last time somebody seemed to genuinely be upset that he wasn’t okay. “I don’t know what I did that was so bad,” he squeaked out before finally breaking, letting out a weak sob as tears slipped down his cheeks, breaking the dam that was his eyelashes. Crying hurt his black eye and the tears burned his split lip, and he put his face in his hands to wipe away the tears, only to come back and realize he had makeup all over his hands. He looked up and Sutan gasped. Tommy realized he must’ve wiped away the caked on makeup to cover his bruises and he let out a broken sob when he saw the sheer horror in his friends eyes over the state of his face.

“TommyJoe, what happened?!” Sutan gasped, pulling Tommy into his chest. He hugged him close, pressing a kiss to the top of Tommy’s chest as he broke down, sobbing brokenly into Sutan’s shirt until his knees gave out. Sutan held him up, arms tight around him, taking Tommy’s weight so that he didn’t fall down as he was overcome with tears. Sutan bit his lip and fought back his own tears as Tommy cried. When he finally relaxed some, Sutan kissed his cheek. “Tommy, who hurt you like this?” he asked, and Tommy sighed weakly, still hiding his face.

“It’s embarrassing,” he whispered and Sutan shook his head, kissing Tommy’s temple.

“Don’t be embarrassed. Never be embarrassed that you got hurt. Just talk to me,” he said, kissing his hair again. He rubbed his back and Tommy sighed.

“I just-“ He whimpered and turned his face to the side, laying his un-bruised cheek against Sutan’s chest, afraid to pull away. “Who has this happen to them, Sutan? Why did it-“ He sucked his lip into his mouth and whimpered. “Sutan, Erin did this,” he whispered and Sutan gasped, arms tightening around Tommy. 

“What?!” he asked in surprise, hands shaking against Tommy’s back. “Oh my God, baby!” He pulled Tommy back and looked him in the eyes. “Your girlfriend _beat you_?!” he asked and Tommy frowned.

“See?! Even you think I’m a pussy-“

Sutan blanched. “NO! Oh my goodness no, honey,” he cried, pulling Tommy into a hug again. “TommyJoe, you are not weak because she hurt you-“

“But I’m a fucking _grown man_ with a tiny little girlfriend and she kicked my ass!” Tommy spat, pulling away to walk over to the makeup station, hugging himself as he faced away from Sutan, looking at his bruised, battered, makeup-stained face. “Erin is tiny, Sutan. You’ve never met her, but she’s shorter than me and she’s small and thin. She’s- she’s beautiful and small and she just- she _hurt me_ ,” he whispered, pain filling his eyes. He sniffled some. “I knew it wasn’t okay,” he whispered. “I- I knew the way she treats me isn’t- I knew it isn’t right, but I don’t have any friends anymore and I don’t have a close family and it’s been years with her. I just… I figured the screaming and the name-calling and the spending money and not working… it was worth it because I didn’t want to be alone,” he admitted, then lifted his head to look at Sutan in the mirror. “But- but since I started working here she’s started scaring me some. And- and today she just-“ He shook his head. “I’m afraid to even go home,” he admitted, and Sutan walked over, putting his hand on Tommy’s back, rubbing his back supportively. “I’m a thirty year old man who is afraid to go home to his tiny little girlfriend because she _beat me_.”

Sutan watched the tears slip down Tommy’s cheeks again and he pulled him around, hugging him. “Shhhh, it’s okay, honey-“

“It’s _not_!” Tommy sobbed and Sutan just shushed him, rocking him back and forth some.

“Come stay with me okay?” Sutan whispered, kissing his head. “Just for tonight, come stay with me, I’ll cancel on Bradley and we’ll just have a few drinks and watch something scary on TV and tomorrow we can think about this some more-“

Tommy shook his head. “If I don’t go home she’ll be _so mad_ , Sutan. I don’t- I don’t want her to hurt me again,” he whispered, letting out a weak sob. “It hurt and I was scared and I- I’ve never felt like that and I hated it-“

The door to the dressing room flung open with a bang. “Alright bitch, I’ve been waiting on you an-“ Brad stopped, eyes widening as he saw Tommy crying into Sutan’s shirt. “Shit, Tommy are you alright?” he asked, and Tommy sniffled and turned his head in surprise, only to pale when Brad’s jaw dropped.

Tommy whimpered. “No,” he squeaked, hiding his face again, but Brad walked over, an angry look on his face.

“Who the fuck hurt you?!” he demanded, and Sutan glared.

“Brad, fuck off-“

“The hell I am, somebody hurt Tommy and I’ll be damned if I’m going to shut up-“

“BRADLEY!” Sutan snapped, putting a hand over Tommy’s head, holding him close. “He’s upset enough without you shouting!”

Tommy shook his head, sniffling. “No, no, it isn’t his fault,” he said, turning to Brad, who paled as he saw exactly how bad the bruises were underneath the makeup. “I’m okay, Brad,” he said, wiping at his eyes gently, wincing as he touched his bad eye. 

Brad bit his lip and threw his arms around Tommy, startling him some as he pulled him close, clearly trying to hold Tommy like Sutan had been, only with the disadvantage of being smaller than Tommy. “Oh you poor baby, tell me who hurt you and I’ll beat their ass. Fuck the police, just let me handle it and it’ll be over fast,” he said and Tommy let out a weak giggle.

“Brad, I didn’t get jumped,” he said with a resigned sigh. “I’m okay for now, I promise.”

Brad nodded. “Alright, but you’re coming home with me and Tranma and we’re going to give you tea and watch movies and cuddle and shit,” he said resolutely, and Tommy couldn’t help but have an overwhelming wave of affection for his friends.

Tommy looked between Brad and Sutan and smiled a genuine smile. “I love you guys, you know that, right?” he asked and they both returned his smiles.

“We love you to death, TommyJoe,” Brad said with a sad little smile. “Everybody at this club loves you. And we love you the most, you’re like family to us,” he said and Tommy swallowed hard, smiling tearfully.

“Okay,” he whispered, looking up at Sutan. “I’ll come home with you,” he said and Sutan’s face morphed into a relieved look.

“Thank God, baby. I have no idea how I’d have lasted until shift tomorrow night without knowing you were okay,” he said, pulling Tommy into a brief hug. “Get your stuff and we’ll go home, okay?” he asked, and Tommy nodded.

“Okay.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tommy couldn’t remember feeling as safe as he did curled up between Sutan and Brad in a long time. Both of them were practically curled around him and he couldn’t help but smiling when both of them jumped over the movie Sutan had let him put on. When the movie ended and Brad got up to put in another, Tommy laughed softly when it came on and was a comedy. “I love how jumpy you two are,” he said and Brad huffed, flopping back down beside him.

“I don’t see why you aren’t jump if you got hurt,” he said and Tommy bit his lip, ducking his head.

“Brad… Promise you won’t laugh?” he asked and Brad frowned, but nodded. Tommy sighed, letting his head fall back against Sutan’s shoulder. “My girlfriend is- is the one who beat me,” he said softly and Brad gasped, sitting up straight.

“WHAT?!” he cried, looking angry. “Oh my God, I would never laugh at that!” He pulled Tommy into a hug, holding him close. “Oh sweetheart, I cannot believe you had to go through that,” he said, pulling away carefully. “Wait… she’s never hurt you before, has she?” he asked, and Tommy ducked his eyes.

Sutan frowned. “You said this was the first time,” he started, but Tommy shook his head.

“She didn’t hit me last time,” he admitted and Brad hummed.

“Was that what happened to your hands?” he asked softly.

Tommy nodded, biting his lip. “The morning after the party I didn’t ask her for permission to go to… she locked the chain so I couldn’t get in when I got home so I went and slept in her car. Well, it’s my car, but she drives it. Anyways, I slept there, but later she came out there and pulled me out and pushed me up against the side of the car, then pulled my hair and shoved me down on the asphalt. She scratched my wrist too and bruised it from how hard she squeezed,” he admitted weakly. He sighed, shaking his head. “Before, the worst she did was make me stay awake to sleep with her when all I wanted was to pass out, or yelling and name-calling. Some hair pulling sometimes, but never anything that _hurt_.”

Brad gasped. “She _forced you_ to have sex with her?!” he asked and Sutan’s jaw dropped.

Tommy nodded. “Not often. I just… I’d be too tired. I’d be so tired all I wanted was to go to sleep because I work ninety hours a week and sleep about three hours most week nights. But she wouldn’t let me go to sleep before I got her off, so I just got used to doing whatever she said because the longer I argued, the longer I wasn’t sleeping-“

Sutan pulled him into a hug, sniffling. “Jesus Christ, who the fuck is this woman?” he whimpered, kissing Tommy’s forehead. “Honey, how long has she done all of this to you?!”

Tommy shrugged. “The last year is when things started getting worse.” He looked at Brad. “I was just… grateful to have a girlfriend because I didn’t really have any friends before I started working with you guys. I didn’t realize how bad things were until she shoved me in the parking lot, but the last few weeks things have been okay, she hasn’t yelled much… then today she just… she was so mad I came home late and she _hurt me_ ,” he whispered, whimpering as he pressed his face into Sutan’s shirt. 

Sutan and Brad shared a look and Sutan shook his head. “Honey, so sorry this happened to you. And if you’ll let me help, I promise you, she won’t ever hurt you again.” Tommy nodded and Sutan smiled sadly. “Okay,” he said, pressing a kiss to Tommy’s hair. “Let’s just watch the movie and get some sleep. We’ll worry more tomorrow.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Sutan helped Tommy cover up his bruises better before going to work and Brad lent him some clothes to wear, since he had none. After work, Sutan and Brad were going to go with Tommy to his and Erin’s apartment and he planned on packing up his things and leaving once and for all. Erin had called him several times but he never answered. However, he wasn’t afraid to be going back because Sutan and Brad were coming with him and he knew that she’d never hurt him with them around.

Sutan held his hand the entire drive there while Brad chattered about how they could fit Tommy’s things into the car. Tommy was terribly grateful for their presence. When they got to the apartment, Tommy saw the car in the lot and knew Erin was home. 

When they got to the door, Tommy turned to look at the others. “Just a warning, she’s going to yell,” he said and Sutan nodded, squeezing his hand.

“It’s okay, honey. We’re right here,” he said and Tommy smiled sadly, nodding before he opened the door.

As soon a Tommy walked inside, Erin leapt up from the couch. “Where the FUCK were you, you sorry piece of shit!?” she demanded, only to gape as Sutan and Brad came in. “Oh my God, you actually went out _again_?!” she spat, and Tommy glared.

“What the hell do you expect?! You gave me a fucking black eye, Erin! Did you honestly think I’d be sitting here waiting on you to get back?!” he demanded and she glowered.

“You’ll wish you had-“

“The hell I will,” he said, going into the bedroom, leaving Erin to chase after him, shouting loudly. He turned her out as he started grabbing his things and shoveling them into the bag he pulled out from under the bed. She yelled at him the entire time he was packing but he ignored her for the most part. He felt somewhat liberated as he stuffed everything of his into bags and left Erin’s things where they were. After he had packed his clothes, he went and started grabbing all of his movies and video games to pack into a bag before handing his guitar to Sutan to carry for him. He set all of his bags by the door and then looked around before walking into the kitchen. He grabbed Erin’s purse and Erin ran over to snatch it back.

“Fucking get off! Take your shit, fuck you, but what could you want-“

Tommy wiggled his hands free, her wallet in his hand. He flipped it open, twisting to keep Erin away as he dug out her credit card. “This is what I want,” he said, as he headed over and turned on the garbage disposal and dropped the card in, grabbing a wooden spoon out of the strainer by the sink to make sure the card was truly eaten. “I’m done paying your bills, Erin. Get a fucking job,” he said, then snagged the car keys off the counter on his way out.

“What are you doing with my car keys?!” Erin demanded and Tommy snatched away when she grabbed his arm.

“It’s my fucking car. It’s in my name, I pay for it, it is literally _mine_ ,” he said, then stopped, glancing around the apartment. “Actually all of this shit is mine, but it’s all shit, so I don’t want it,” he said on his way out, only to backtrack. “Except this-“ He walked over and yanked all the cords from the cable box out of the way and unplugged the television before picking it up, glad they had invested in a flat-screen TV not long ago. 

“You stupid fucker, put that back! I swear to God, you will regret this,” Erin shouted. Tommy put the TV down beside his pile of stuff, only to yelp as Erin grabbed his hair and snatched him back around.

“ERIN!” he screamed, but before she could hit him, a larger hand grabbed her wrist to stop her.

Sutan glared. “You hit him and I swear to God, I’ll call the police on your ass,” he spat and she backed down. “You are so fucking lucky I’m too nice of a person to hit you back.” He turned to help Tommy. 

Bradley scoffed. “Well I’m not!” he said in a bitter voice and, before Sutan could stop him, Brad drew back and punched Erin right in the face. She screamed and fell back in shock, and Brad just smiled grimly. “That’s for hitting my friend you evil bitch,” he spat before going to help Tommy and Sutan, who were both staring at him in shock, by picking up the rest of Tommy’s bags so that he could carry his TV. “Alright honey, we’ll put this stuff in your car and you can follow is home, okay?” he said sweetly as ever before walking out the open door.

Sutan and Tommy shared a look before bursting into snickers. “That boy ain’t right,” Sutan said, holding the door for Tommy.

Tommy looked back at Erin, who was staring at him in shock and horror and smiled at her. “Have a nice life, Erin,” he offered sarcastically before walking out. Sutan followed him and Tommy couldn’t help the tightening of his throat as such a monumentally overwhelming weight began to vanish, leaving him feeling lighter and more at ease than ever before.

Tommy didn’t even realize he was crying until Sutan put his bags in the trunk and immediately turned to pull Tommy into a hug. “You’re okay, sweetheart,” he said, holding him close.

Tommy sniffled and laughed wetly, looking up at Sutan. “I really am, Sutan. For the first time in a long time, I honestly _really_ am okay,” he realized, and positively beaming up at Sutan. “I’m totally okay.”

Sutan returned his smile and nodded. “You’re more than okay, baby,” he agreed, only to be surprised as Tommy stood on his toes and kissed him gently.

Tommy fell back on his heels and smiled sweetly up at Sutan. “Thank you for everything,” he whispered and Sutan laughed.

“Anything for you, TommyJoe. Anything at all,” he said, hugging Tommy close before letting him go to ruffle his hair. “Alright, sugar, let’s go home,” he said before going back to his car, where Brad was waiting.

As Tommy climbed into his car and rolled down the windows before leaving the parking lot, he couldn’t remember life before Erin, but he was damn sure life with her gone was going to be a hell of a lot better.


End file.
